Tex. Governor To Summon Lawmakers for Finance Session

Gov. Ann W. Richards of Texas is planning to call a special session
of the legislature after this week's elections to deal once again with
the issue of education finance.

Aides to lawmakers last week said the Governor will call legislators
back to Austin next Tuesday to get discussion moving again on the
thorny issue that has pitted rich and poor school districts--and their
legislators--against one another for many months.

"We at least need to get people back in to [focus] on it,'' said
Sonia Hernandez, the Governor's director of education policy.

The state is under a court order to come up with a plan by June 1
that reduces funding disparities between school districts. If lawmakers
fail to meet the deadline, a state judge has threatened to cut off
state and local funding of schools, effectively shutting them down.

State leaders are attempting to get the legislature moving as soon
as possible in the event that a constitutional amendment must be taken
before the voters. To do so, and still meet the June 1 deadline, the
legislature would have to adopt a proposal by mid-February at the
latest.

Election Changes Expected

Another reason for the haste is anticipation of a change in the
composition of the legislature.

Analysts predicted that redistricting as a result of the 1990 Census
would enable Republicans to pick up several seats in the Senate this
week. If the Republicans gained two or more seats in that chamber, they
would have enough procedural strength to block legislation.

What may be even more significant, though, is simply the addition of
new members, observers said. "We will have a lot of new members, and
any time we do, we have to start the education process again, which
takes time,'' said one legislative aide.

If the lame-duck legislature is unable to reach an accord, a
projected budget shortfall of more than $3 billion is expected to
consume a considerable amount of lawmakers' time and energy during the
1993 session.

One final complication is the pending retirement of Speaker of the
House Gibson D. Lewis. While the Senate is in a position to pass the
legislation as early as the first week in the session, observers said,
a fight is brewing in the House over Mr. Lewis's replacement.

"The politics of that can easily gum up the works,'' said one
observer.

State leaders have been working feverishly behind the scenes to put
together a plan that they can sell to both the Senate and the House,
where building coalitions on education finance has proved to be
difficult in the past.

Current plans call for the Governor, Lieut. Gov. Bob Bullock, Mr.
Lewis, and Sen. Carl A. Parker, the powerful chairman of the education
committee, to present a single draft.

So far the leadership has been fairly successful in keeping most
details of the plan under wraps until after the election.

Constitutional Amendment

Several sources indicated, however, that the leadership would seek
an amendment to the state constitution. What specific changes would be
sought is unknown.

Since the courts have struck down prior finance plans three times,
citing their unconstitutionality, the leadership theorizes that it will
require an amendment to the state constitution in order to pass
judicial muster, one source said.

The state supreme court in January struck down the school-finance
system created by the legislature in 1991, ruling that the county-based
property-tax districts in the law were in essence a statewide property
tax, which the constitution prohibits. (See Education Week, Feb. 5,
1992.)

Education lobbyists hailed the leadership's decision to press
ahead.

"They are determined to try to find a solution. That we applaud,''
said Nancy L. Cotton, a spokeswomman for the Texas Association of
School Boards.

But Ms. Cotton said the T.A.S.B. is concerned that the leadership's
plan apparently calls for only $645 million in new school funding for
the biennium, when the state funding formula calls for districts to
receive $850 million.

"It's not even enough to meet enrollment growth,'' she said.

Consequently, she added, there is growing concern that massive
property-tax increases may be needed.

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